Christine Elizabeth Adamson is an Australian judge. She has been a Judge of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...

since October 2011. She was educated at Walford Anglican School for Girls and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

, where she graduated in 1986 with honours in law, and won the Stow Medal and Bennett Medal for academic distinction. In the same year, she was admitted to the bar as a solicitor and worked as a legal officer for the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department for two years. From March 1988, she worked for the Australian Government Solicitor's Office. Beforehand, in 1987, she taught property law at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

. Afterward, in 1989, she taight Constitutional Law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. In February 1989, at the relatively young age of 26, Adamson was admitted to the New South Wales Bar. Her practice as a barrister included trade practices, administrative law, constitutional law, professional negligence, personal injury and disciplinary matters, and although initially appearing often in the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was an Australian tribunal that conducted independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT reviewed decisions made by Australian G ...

and Administrative Decisions Tribunal of New South Wales, she later developed a significant Supreme Court practice. She attained senior counsel status in 2003, and was appointed chairperson of the Council of Law Reporting for New South Wales in 2004. She represented officers of a failed insurer before the

HIH Insurance HIH Insurance was Australia's second-largest insurance company before it was placed into provisional liquidation on 15 March 2001. The demise of HIH is considered to be the largest corporate collapse in Australia's history, with liquidators e ...

Royal Commission and was counsel assisting the Independent Commission Against Corruption in their investigations of state MPs

Karyn Paluzzano Karyn Lesley Paluzzano (born 6 May 1960) is a former Australian politician. She was a Labor Party Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2003 to 2010, representing the electorate of Penrith. In September 2012 Paluzzano was sen ...

and

Angela D'Amore Angela D'Amore (born 10 October 1971), an Australian former politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the electorate of Electoral district of Drummoyne, Drummoyne from 2003 until 2011 New South Wales sta ...

. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Greg Smith with effect from October 2011. In 2017, she presided over the trial of former state minister

Ian Macdonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed te ...

and union official John Maitland, sentencing McDonald to at least seven years imprisonment and Maitland to at least four years' imprisonment. The sentences were quashed on 25 February 2019 by the Court of Criminal Appeal, which held that Adamson had not properly directed the jury. Adamson is the daughter of former

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n state MP

Jennifer Cashmore Jennifer Lilian Cashmore ( Adamson, 5 December 1937 – 10 June 2024) was an Australian politician. She was a Liberal Party member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1977 and 1993, representing the eastern suburbs seat of Coles ...

. Her sister,

Frances Adamson Frances Jennifer Adamson (born 20 April 1961) is an Australian public servant and diplomat who is the 36th Governor of South Australia, in office since 7 October 2021. She previously served as Australian Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2015 a ...

, was Australia's first female Ambassador to China and, in October 2021, became the 36th

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-general of Aust ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Christine Living people 1960s births Year of birth uncertain Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales University of Adelaide alumni 20th-century Australian lawyers 21st-century Australian judges 21st-century Australian women judges 20th-century Australian women